Carolinas HealthCare Launches Alexa Skill

The Carolinas HealthCare system launched a new Alexa skill this week. The new skill provides patients with information on the nearest urgent care and hospital locations as well as the approximate wait times at each one. Patients can enable the skill by saying “Alexa, enable Carolinas” and granting the skill access to the address information stored in their Alexa app. “Carolinas HealthCare System is always looking to make it easier for patients to get care. We know the last thing a patient needs during an urgent medical need is to have to figure out where to go. Using Alexa is quick and convenient,” said Craig Richardville, Carolinas SVP and chief information and analytics officer said in a statement.

Alexa in Case of Emergency

Like Carolinas, other healthcare providers are seeing the value in voice-first devices. The Mayo Clinic recently launched a skill that provides information on first-aid topics, like how to initiate CPR. Boston Children’s launched a similar skill, KidsMD, which provides parents with information to diagnose their children’s symptoms and whether or not they need to call a doctor. It’s not surprising voice assistants like Alexa are rapidly being adopted by the healthcare industry. Voice-first communication is the fastest way to provide information to their patients, even more so than a smartphone app. The hands-free communication Alexa can be invaluable when it comes to medical emergencies. Especially when every minute counts.